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When we jump into the swimming pool for some last-minute summer revelry, the worst part of getting out is the feeling of residual chlorine on our bodies. The environment doesn’t respond well to chlorine either- several synthetic chlorine-based compounds are toxic when released into nature and have taken part in the development of numerous superfund sites. Fortunately, a team from the University of Minnesota’s BioTechnology Institute is working on a way to clean up this chlorine, with help from some hungry bacteria.

Yesterday the police were on high alert, cracking down harder than ever on the sale, possession and use of illegal fireworks. But every day, several Americans light up something far more lethal. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and remains so dangerous largely due the addictive properties of nicotine. In an effort to curb that dependency, researchers from the University of Minnesota are developing a vaccine that will grant immunity to nicotine.

As humans, we like to think of ourselves as superbly evolved, which is a completely valid standpoint if you place emphasis on things like consciousness and inventiveness. But our cohabitants of Earth have developed some impressive abilities of their own, many of which we can only barely understand. Take for example the bacteria that are shocking several researchers at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities lab with their unique ability to change the electrical state of metals.

While today’s advancements in biotechnology suggest that there’s nothing we can’t artificially produce, sometimes there’s just no substitute for nature’s own recipes. At least, that’s the philosophy behind the University of Minnesota’s Schmidt-Dannert Lab, whose aim is to harness compounds created in natural organisms like plants and fungi that cannot be produced by chemical means. Many of these compounds have beneficial properties that can be used in further research and drug production.

For example, take chloroplasts, the organelles that perform photosynthesis inside plant cells. They provide energy to plant cells when exposed to light. Animal cells don’t have chloroplasts, which means they’re missing out on a valuable energy source. The Schmidt-Dannert Lab, led by University of Minnesota professor Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, is working toward is creating solar-powered animal cells that are more productive and produce different sorts of organic materials.